Boot or shoe



(No Model.)

J. E. CROSBY.

BOOT 0R SHOE.

Patented Sept. 4, 1888.

ll III WITNEEEEEL W M m rue [vlhugmphen Wilshmghm UNITED STATES PATENT OFFICE.

JOSEPH F. CROSBY, OF DANVERS, MASSACHUSETTS.

BOOT OR SHOE.

SPECIFICATION forming part of Letters Patent No. 388,838, dated September 4, 1888,

Application filed December 8, 1887.

To (all whom it may concern:

Be it known that I, JOSEPH E. JRosnY, of Danvers. lllassachusetts, have invented a new and useful Improvement in Boots or Shoes, of which the following is a specification.

My improvement relates to the bottoming of machinesewed boots or shoes. The machinesewing ordinarily renders the bottom of the shoe very stiff and hard and without the flexibility distinguishing a hand sewed shoe. Moreover, the constant bending of the forward portion of the shoe in walking causes the outer and inner soles to move or rub slightly one upon the other, which movement or rubbing sooner or later breaks the stitches between the outer and inner sole. This movement of the one sole upon the other also often produces a creaking or sqneaking noise.

.It is well known that a "handsewed shoe costs more to make than one thatis machinesewed, and commands a higher price in the market, because it does not have the disadvantages of the machine sewed shoe above set forth; and it is the object of my improvement to approximate as near as may be in a machine-sewed shoe to the desirable flexibility of the hand-sewed shoe in the forward portion of the sole, to give sufficient inflexibility 'and stiffness to the middle portion or instep,where stiffness is highly important, and to prevent the breaking of the stitches and the creaking noise due to the movement of the outer and inner soles, above referred to; and, indeed, my improved shoe, hereinafter described, is hardly distinguishable, if at all, in appearancc, comfort to the foot, and in durability from a hand-sewed shoe.

In my improved shoe I make the outer and inner solo from a single piece of leather sufticiently thick to form both soles. This piece of leather I split laterally through from the heel to and including the instep, but only part way through around the portion thereof forward of the instep, leaving the two parts thus formed integral with each other only by the ligature left unsevered alongthc middle of the portion forward of the instep, and one of the parts of sufficient thickness for an outer sole and the other for an insole. l next trim the lastmentioned part eircumferentially to a smaller size, proper for an insole. The further construction is hereinafter set forth.

Serial No. 257,316. (No model.)

In the drawings, Figure 1 represents a shoe embodying my invention, the front part being cutaway to show the lateral cut in the forward portion of the leather forming the outer and inner soles, also showing the edges of the upper lasted in between them, and the stitches made by the machine. Fig. 2 is a side view of the leather cut through, as above described, from the heel to the instep, the heel portion of the outsolc being raised. Fig. 3 is a view of the same after the inner split portion has been rounded or trimmed to shape as an insole, the part of the leather which is left integral forward of the instep being indicated by dotted lines. Fig. 4 is a detail of construction.

S is the shoe, its bottom part being formed from a single piece of leather split laterally through from the heel to and including the instep and part way through around the portion forward of the instep, the one part, A, being ofsufflcient thickness to form an outer sole,and the other part, B, of sufticicnt thickness to form an inner sole.

I is the ligature left unsevered, joining the two parts A and B together. The part B is then trimmed eircumferentially, to reduce it to the proper size of an insole. The upper, prepared in the usual manner, is then lasted onto part B or the inner sole, the outer sole, A, being dampened to render it more pliable and turned up out of the way of the laster, so that the edges of the upper now lie in the incision between the two parts A and I3. After lasting, the outer sole is flattened down again and then allowed to dry. A metal shank, O, is then inserted between parts A and I; at the instep and secured by tacks. The shoe is then passed to the sewing machine and sewed through and through in the usual manner, the stitches d d passing through parts A and I and the edges of the upper lying between said parts, thus firmly securing together the two parts of the sole and the upper. The shoe is then finished in the usual manner.

It will now be obvious that by reason of ligature I there can be no rubbing movement at the forward part of the bottom of the shoe, in walking, to cut the stitches, and as the forward part is thus practically but one piece of leather the desired flexibility and elasticity at that part are secured, for in the old construe tion, in which two entirely separate soles are employed, the firm binding together by the stitches of the machine oi two such separate pieces, differing in grain and texture, necessa rily rendered the bottom of the shoe lllilCX iblc and inelastic; and it is also obvious that by means otthe shank l secure the desired stitTness at the instep to keep the shoe in shape.

By the provision for the insertion of the metal shank in my improved shoe I have produced a shoe that possesses the advantages of a hand-turned shoe coupled with the superiority and permanence of style of a machinesewed shoe-in other Words, for practical purposes, a handturncd shoe with the advantage of style of a machine-sewed shoe, and yet really a machinesewed shoe, costing greatly less than a hand-turned shoe.

I claim An unturned boot or shoe having a conr pound outer and inner sole formed from a single piece of leather split laterally through from the heel to and including the instep and part way through around the portion thereof forward of the instep, leaving the two parts thus formed integral with each other only along a ligature connecting the two in the middle of said forward portion, and having the whole of the inner split part which is to form the insole eircumferentially trimmed to reduce it in size to form the insole, and having a metal or other suitable shank inserted between said parts at the instep, the whole being connected with the body of the boot or shoe by stitches or other l'astenings carried through and through both parts of the sole and the upper, substantially as described.

J. E. CROSBY.

\Vitnesses:

WALpnoN lhx'rns, ARTHUR \V. Snnrumnp. 

